The Air Force flying hours program—which has suffered steady declines in recent years to the alarm of observers and lawmakers—will stabilize in the coming years as leaders focus on making sure pilots and aircraft alike can actually fly all the hours that are funded, the ...
The head of the National Guard warned that a shortage of fighter jets, pilots, and maintainers in the reserve component could leave the military short-handed in a possible conflict.
The Air Force’s Rated Officer Demonstration Program, announced Aug. 15, will offer pilots assignment preferences in addition to monetary bonuses, a service spokeswoman told Air & Space Forces Magazine on Aug. 18. In addition, pilots will have to sign at least an eight-year contract to receive ...
As the Air Force struggles to ease its pilot shortage, it can still fill all its cockpits, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said June 7. But that has come at the expense of staff jobs normally assigned to pilots, leading the service ...
The Air Force is bumping up bonuses in its quest to retain pilots, the service announced June 5. Aviators—including pilots, air battle managers, and combat systems officers—can now receive up to $50,000 annually for agreeing to stay on in fiscal year 2023, a significant increase ...
As the Air Force battles a persistent pilot shortage made worse by aging training aircraft, the service has started approaching its current pilots earlier in their careers to offer retention incentives, hoping to convince them to stay in the military longer, Vice Chief of Staff ...
The Air Force made little progress in closing its pilot shortage in fiscal 2022, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin wrote in testimony delivered to Congress this week. And issues with training aircraft are slowing down the production of new pilots, he told lawmakers.
The Air Force’s pilot training and safety enterprise is in the midst of a pivotal transition, a panel of top generals said at the AFA Warfare Symposium on March 7, with increased usage of tools like data analytics and high-tech simulators but limited flying hours and ...
The Air Force should build its capacity and striking power with collaborative combat aircraft but must put the teaming aspect of the new class of weapons first, getting the concepts and software right at the outset to ensure that autonomous airplanes do what’s needed and ...
Certain Active-duty pilots who renew their contracts can earn up to $420,000 through the service’s 2022 Aviation Bonus program. “Airpower will always be in high demand, and our operational readiness hinges on retaining a force of skilled and experienced aviators,” said Chief of Staff Gen. Charles ...
Active-duty Airmen who want to become pilots, combat systems officers, air battle managers, or remotely piloted aircraft pilots now have until Dec. 31 to apply for the Rated Preparatory Program. The Air Force launched the program in partnership with the Civil Air Patrol in 2019 ...
The Air Force’s pilot production numbers stayed relatively steady from fiscal 2019 to 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said, an encouraging sign that the service’s efforts to speed up that pipeline are working. That progress could be ...